Is social media sabotaging your business?

Sometimes social media goes too far. And if you’re not ready to deal with it, your business could be sabotaging itself.

Consider this page at online retailer Staples.ca. I noticed Staples had a portable, oil-filled radiator/heater on sale this week, and wondered if that might be useful for the one room in our house that is always cold in winter. So I clicked on the item description to find more about how it works – thinking, for instance, that it might tell me how it compares cost-wise vs. the electrical space heater that costs us a small fortune every night.

I didn’t find the information I was looking for. But I noticed there was one product review from a Staples customer, so I clicked to read it. (Click on “Customer Reviews.”)

Talk about undermining your own sales effort! The review is a salesperson’s worst nightmare. It’s from a dissatisfied customer named “JJ” who bought a radiator and had it spring a leak within two months. When JJ tried to return it, Staples told them it offered only a one-month warranty for exchange; JJ would have to contact the manufacturer.

JJ gave the product one star, meaning “Do not buy this for yourself.” Yes, those actual words appear on Staples’ product page, just below the product’s picture – and the links for sharing this information via Facebook and Twitter.

I think customer reviews are useful tools for online retailers. When they’re positive, they provide third-party endorsements that are more credible than retailers’ promotional text. But when those reviews are negative, businesses should be prepared to do damage control.

Why not an apology? Why not offer JJ an exchange, a refund, or even a store credit? Because at the moment, this retailer looks like it stands by products and policies that disappoint customers and stain their carpets.

The problem, of course, is that Staples either doesn’t know the complaint is there (it’s dated Nov. 29), or it doesn’t care. Don’t make the same mistake in your business.

If you offer or link to customer reviews, manage these like you would any other business tool. Encourage satisfied customers to write more reviews. Respond promptly to complaints. Do what you can to delight the customer. Follow the same strategy for comments on Facebook and other social media channels. Remember, customers who leave negative reviews may also be the sorts who Tweet and blog widely about your remedy.

Studies show that consumers don’t expect companies or products to be perfect. In fact, they are very impressed when a company responds promptly to a customer problem.

Negative reviews on websites, blogs and Facebook can be an opportunity for your business, not a nightmare. As Bill Gates has said, “Your most unhappy customers are your greatest source of learning.”

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Want to learn more about how a bad reputation online can affect your business? PC World provides tips on how to clean up your reputation on the Internet. Click here to read the article.